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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Poor Kreayshawn, It's Tough Being A White Girl

When will this woman's fifteen minutes of fame be up? First it was justifying using the N word at will and now it's all about how tough it is to be White.

“People be like, ‘oh, that’s that white rapper,’” she said on the radio that morning, when one of the hosts asked her how she classifies her music. “I don’t like the sound of that. That sounds hella whack to me — white girl rapper. I’m an artist.”

[SNIP]

Then she remembers moments when she didn’t feel confident: “When I was younger, growing up in the ‘hood, being the only white girl, like, there’s time when you’re like s--t, it sucks being white, you know?” (source)

Should I start singing Go Down Moses for her? Yeah Pharaoh, let my poor White girls, who get opportunities based simply in their Whiteness go. It must be tough to drop out of high
school and then be able to talk your way into film school with full scholarships. It must be tough to be a film school drop out and then get asked to direct Red Hot Chili Pepper's new video. And the utter hardship of putting a video out on youtube and then getting a million dollar recording contract must just be unbearable.

Anyone who thinks differently must just be a hater and not capable of producing their own music. The bottom line is that she is an A-R-T-I-S-T people and don't you forget it. Her Whiteness has nothing to do with the fact that she able to get various opportunities and leave those Blacks behind in the hood. Uh huh.

I am going to say once again, that I am not really a fan of rap. I am more of a rock kind of girl, classic rock to be precise however, I know appropriation and false poor little me when I see it. The attention that Gucci Gucci got was based soundly in the fact that it was performed by a White woman. There is nothing phenomenal or cutting edge about the track. Unlike Eminem, who has his own share of problems, Kreayshawn is all image. She is not subverting or creating anything. What she is doing is what Whiteness has done since their introduction to people of colour, stealing everything that isn't nailed down and running wild.

If Kreayshawn had talked about the sexism, or even classism that she has faced, she would have had my full attention, but claiming oppression based in her Whiteness, is not only laughable, it's down right privilege denial. Did it suck being the only White person in a room? Well, this is something Blacks have to negotiate everyday and you don't see great rivers of sympathy flowing over that. Besides, it couldn't have been that hard because Kreayshawn and her crew seems to have no problem using racial slurs and finding sell-out Negros to defend them. Next she'll be telling us how much harder she had to work because she's White.

I know that part of the music industry is packaging, but Kreayshawn's image is offensive and would not be viable, if we didn't live in a White supremacist world. Thus far, she has not had to deal with any of the racialized attacks that Black women have faced in rap simply because she is White. At one point she dares to call her music "organic", as though Black women didn't so this first and better. What Kreayshawn wants is the ability to appropriate and use slurs without condemnation and that my friends is privilege in action.

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About Me

I am the mother of two darling little boys that fill my life with hope. They have inspired me to help raise awareness of the issues that plague this little blue planet.
If you are looking for a blog that is all about how wonderful and rosy this world is, turn right because this space will not be for you. I am a committed humanist. I believe in the value of people over commodities. I believe in the human right to food, clothing, shelter, and education. I am pacifist, anti-racist, WOC. My truth may not be your truth, but I intend to speak it nonetheless.
Please feel free to direct questions or commentary womanistmusings@gmail.com